UPDATE: WWII grenade removed from Fremont P.D.

By Ben Aguirre Jr., Staff Writer

Posted:
02/05/2007 04:14:19 PM PST

Updated:
02/05/2007 05:25:27 PM PST

FREMONT - The Alameda County Bomb Squad has removed a World War II-era hand grenade from the bed of a moving truck this afternoon and
declared the area near the Fremont Police Department safe, officials said.

The bomb squad was summoned to the department, 2000 Stevenson
Blvd., this afternoon after two men brought a hand grenade to the
department to turn it in, said Officer Dennis Madsen.

The men had been contracted to remove items from a home in Mountain
View on Monday, Madsen said. When they returned to a storage
facility in Fremont, they opened one of the boxes and saw the antique
grenade, as well as a few handguns and rounds of ammunition, he said.

About 2:30 p.m. they drove to the department and notified them what
they had. Police then evacuated part of the police department and
cordoned off the parking lot, Madsen said.

The bomb squad arrived about 4:30 p.m., examined the item and then
took it for destruction, the officer said.

As a result of the incident, police closed portions of Stevenson
Boulevard and Civic Center Drive for about 30 minutes.

Police are now reminding citizens not to bring any suspicious devices
to the police station.

``If you find any, just leave them where they are and call us,
Madsen said.